Joseph Kony, Child Soldiers, and the Rule of Law

Fighting against the human rights abuses of Ugandan Lord's
Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, the organization Invisible
Children has released "KONY
2012," a 30-minute video that has gone viral in social media with tens
of millions of views.

Youth have taken up the cause, from Tweeting (#stopkony),
posting on Facebook,
and donating time and money to this human rights cause. One even sees young
people carrying "KONY 2012" and "Stop Kony" posters along urban streets in
order to increase awareness.

What makes the video so compelling is how the it reveals Kony's
abduction and use of child soldiers to commit atrocities, including murdering
their own parents and facial mutilation of Kony's opponents. During the past 30
years, it is estimated that the LRA has forced more than 20,000 children to
become soldiers. In the case of abducted females, they become sex slaves for the
LRA. This isn't an abstract concept but real faces and names are now attached
to what's happened at Kony's behest.

To be sure Joseph Kony is a horrible man who should be apprehended
and brought to justice for his crimes before the International Criminal Court. In
October 2011, President Obama ordered up to 100 military advisors to deploy to
assist the Ugandan government's hunt for Kony and his army.

Complicating the Ugandan government's task of capturing Joseph
Kony, the Lord's Resistance Army has moved to neighboring countries. This makes
it easier for Kony to operate because Uganda's military has to concern itself
with respecting the sovereignty of its neighbors while pursuing a war criminal.
Those neighboring states need to understand that harboring such a criminal
mocks their own efforts to protect human rights. Regional efforts to catch Kony and stop the LRA's
havoc are long overdue.

Invisible Children wants the public to apply pressure to key
celebrities and politicians to make Joseph Kony a household name so that the
hunt will continue. The viral nature of the Stop Kony video ensures that the
public is aware of his crimes and the need for his apprehension. If anything,
the release of the video increases the likelihood that Kony will be apprehended
sooner.

Unfortunately, the world has many psychopaths who are or aspire to
follow in Joseph Kony's footsteps. Bringing Kony and the LRA to justice would
demonstrate a global commitment to fight such war criminals and protect the
human rights of those whom these monsters would violate in their quests for
power.